The Blink Of An Eye
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Between being a Ranger and being a Guardian, Gia had seen all kinds of cuts, bruises, wounds and burns. She had answered some calls where victims and attackers alike were spilling blood. She had seen limbs, heads, and various other body part detached from the rest of the body. She had never seen anything like this.
1. Power And Intent

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel or Megaforce._

It was strange how love and hate could co-exist. For instance, Gia had both loved and hated her time as a Ranger. She loved and hated her partner Jordan. She loved and hated her job.

She really did love her job. She had long since accepted the fact that there would be bad people in the world. Despite everything, there would always be someone who wanted to hurt someone else. There would always be someone who wanted to play with the rules for personal gain. There was always someone who didn't care about the rules. Hell, Gia was one to play with, or even outright ignore the rules. She could understand the compulsion.

Power was a tricky state and emotion. Being a _Power_ Ranger herself, Gia had felt the pull that it had. She had people's lives in her hands, and there was nothing that could stop her from doing whatever she wanted with it.

Power, though tricky, wasn't dangerous on its own. On its own, power was just strength. When coupled with intention, that's when power could reveal its true force.

Gia still had power. As a Silver Guardian, she had the power to control many cities, including, but not limited to Angel Cove, Harwood County, Amber Beach, and Summer Cove. She had the power to influence the lives of anyone living within those city limits, as well as anyone who had a relationship to those cities. Often, Gia was in awe with just how far spread her power really was. Fortunately, her intentions were good, which meant her power was good. She wanted to help and protect people. She wanted to use her powers to make sure people felt happy, safe and free. Her power was used to make people's days just a little bit better.

Gia loved her job, but she also hated it. She hated that she wasn't the only one with power. She hated that there were people out there who were just as powerful than her. It wasn't that she felt threatened by their power. No; she could match their power easily. Between the resources of being a Silver Guardian, and the power that came with being a Power Ranger, there were few people whose power posed a real threat to her.

It was their intention that threatened Gia. Their intention to use their powers for personal gain that really made Gia's blood boil.

Power alone was neither good or bad. Power gained its force, its influence, from intent.

And right now, the intention was to hurt. Gia needed to stop that hurt. Unfortunately, it hurt her too.

Since the article condemning the LGBT community had come out, many people felt validated in their belief that the existence of these people was a problem. While many people were just being vocal, and there was nothing against the law regarding speech, some were taking it even further. Gia and Jordan already had to handle Sarah's case, where she had been attacked in the street simply for being bisexual. They hoped that would be the start and the end of it. Unfortunately, many people were unhappy, and they felt they had been silenced for too long.

Gia did not understand it. It wasn't a feeling she was used to, but she was completely dumbfounded by their belief. Her younger brother and sister were being raised by her two mothers, and they were turning into extraordinary people. They were sharing a similar upbringing to her own, having grown up with a mother and a father. It was almost like the sex of their parents didn't matter as much as the love, the care, and the attention they received.

Her two mothers would also regularly babysit and care for her daughter and nephew. They would always come home smiling, happy, and healthy. They were safe, and they could express, in their own way, how they had the best grandmothers in the world. They were just as happy and just as comfortable in their grandmothers' home as they were with Jake's mom and dad. Again, it was as if the sex of their grandparents didn't matter as much to them as the love, the care, the attention, and the fun they had being with their grandparents.

Clearly, the argument that same-sex relationships was harmful to young children was wrong. Plain and simple.

As for how anyone could possibly explain a same-sex relationship to a young child who witness two people of the same sex holding hands, kissing, or being overly affectionate… Gia really hadn't had to explain it yet. Dylan was still too young to understand marriage at all, Joe and Ciara had only ever known their grandmothers as a couple and Ryan seemed to instinctively understand that her mothers loved each other and wanted to be together. She had asked once what happened to her father, but never why she had two mothers instead of only one.

It didn't hurt the children. It wasn't hurting anyone. Her mothers had never caused harm to anyone because they were in a relationship. So this violence was unnecessary.

Unfortunately, the reporter who had written the article had given power to a group of people who had the wrong intentions, and now it was up to Gia, Jordan, and their team at the Silver Guardians to once again use their powers to help.

Gia had explained this to Jake over a video chat. He was away for work. Playing for the national team kept him quite busy during the summer months and required that he travel to play in games. It made life a little difficult for the young couple, especially for Ciara who couldn't understand why her dad wasn't home all the time, but Jake was living his dream. He was so happy, and Gia couldn't take that away from him. Not to mention, the career of an athlete never lasted long. Jake had only a few good years ahead of him, then he would be able to retire and settle down at home. He would be in Ciara's life all the time then. In the meantime, he always made the best of the time he had with her during the off season, and Gia was sure to travel to visit him as often as she could so the family would have time together at least every couple of weeks.

He told her to keep her chin up, and to keep fighting for the cause she believed in. Good did have a funny way of always beating out the bad, if it was willing to fight. If she took the lead, people would follow. She knew Jake was right, and then let him chat with Ciara for a bit before the call had to end. Jake had been called to practice.

The evening finished off with Ciara, Joe and Tiger playing together in the backyard while Gia watched from the patio. She watched her daughter giggle and smile as she played with her cousin and the large cat, and continued to think about the journalist who wrote the article; how he had abandoned his daughter over something so insignificant as her being a lesbian.

Gia tried to imagine herself in his shoes. One thing she had learned in her years as a Silver Guardian was that the bad guys didn't believe they were bad. Their actions were justified in their mind, in some twisted way. If Gia knew how to understand them, she could connect with them and get what she wanted. She tried with the journalist, and with every other parent who had ever tossed their kids out on the streets.

She didn't understand. There was no way that she could put it where it would make sense to her. There was nothing she wouldn't do for her daughter. There was nothing about parenting that was too hard or not worth it. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that Ciara could do, and there was no one Ciara could become that would force Gia to turn her back on her daughter. She would always be there for Ciara. She would always be the one person Ciara could depend on with anything.

Hell, Ciara could transition into a man and want to call herself Cliff and Gia would accept it. It would be hard, mostly because of the name, but Gia would welcome her son Cliff into her life. Adapting to that name being back into her life would be nowhere near as hard as losing her child.

As Tiger came over to rest from playing with the toddlers, Gia looked to the cat and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't get it," she said. "I don't get why people have so much hate. Do you?"

Tiger shook her head and was about to settle next to Gia when her ears twitched and her attention turned to the fence. Harwood County had suffered from being destroyed when the Armada attacked, and as a result, it was still being rebuilt now. The city, which was more of a town at this point, was quiet, and Gia didn't have neighbours except Jordan and Emma, who shared their backyard.

There was no walking trail along the backyard, and no road. There was no reason for anyone to be on the other side of the fence. But when Tiger lunged with a loud roar, Gia knew something was up.

And then she heard the cry – words she dared not repeat even in her thoughts. Words she wished her daughter and nephew would never have to hear.

Words that confirmed that what followed next was an attack. It was intentional, it was malicious, and it was hate.

Pure, unimaginable, unforgivable hate.

Something flew over the fence as the words were uttered and it landed in the backyard. Gia had no idea what it was except that it was in a water bottle, but it terrified her more that anything. She gave Tiger full freedom to chase after the one responsible for it while she tried to get the kids away.

Suddenly, the water bottle burst.

Nothing would hurt Gia more than losing her child.


	2. Fallouts

Between being a Ranger and being a Guardian, Gia had seen all kinds of cuts, bruises, wounds and burns. She had answered some calls where victims and attackers alike were spilling blood. She had seen limbs, heads, and various other body part detached from the rest of the body.

She had never seen anything like this.

Jordan sat down next to her and offered her a coffee. She didn't take it. Her hands were already shaky, she was already wide awake. She didn't need the coffee.

"It could have been worse," he told her. "Much, much worse."

Gia couldn't imagine much worse – at least, she didn't want to. She pulled her daughter in closer to her chest and cradled her small body and tried to ignore the screams, which still echoed inside her head, despite Ciara being fast asleep, safe and sound now.

A bottle had been tossed into her backyard, where her daughter and nephew – her children – had been playing. It had burst, intentionally, splashing burning liquid on them.

A bomb had burned her baby. Someone threw a bomb and injured her baby.

Intentionally.

Joe was fine. Some minor burns, a bump on his head from when he had fallen backwards by the force, and a lot of screaming, but he was okay. Some bandages, snuggles from his father and kisses from his mother had soothed him to sleep. A funny doctor, who made the treatment seemed more like a game than a requirement had helped him to recover. Joe was fine.

Ciara was fine. She also had burns, a head bump and a lot of screaming. She also had bandages and she had received snuggles and kisses and a fun doctor who helped her feel better. Come morning, there would be complaints of pain, but Ciara was okay.

Gia was not. She had watched a bomb explode near her two children. She had watched a bomb threaten their lives and she had been helpless to do anything except hope they would be okay.

All because one journalist's daughter loved another girl.

"We'll find whoever did this," Jordan promised Gia. "Whoever they are, they aren't going to get away with this."

-Ninja-Steel-

Preston had decided that the news was depressing. Not only did they always favour the dark, scary crazy side of what was happening in the world, but the insistence that they cover what went wrong, instead of what went right, made people feel unsafe. It made the world seem like a dark and scary place to live, when there was a lot of good about it too.

It had barely been anytime at all since Kelly's father's article had been at the center of everyone's focus and it was already making a comeback, immediately following the reports of Summer Cove High's collapse and the injuries that resulted from it. Now, in the wake of the article, two kids were hurt.

Preston normally would turn off the TV at this point. He cared very deeply, of course, but he didn't want to keep himself focused on the bad. He wanted to try and stay positive and if the news wouldn't help, he wouldn't buy into it. However, he was more invested in this story because he knew the victims.

The Silver Guardians were a well-known branch of law enforcement that started in Silver Hills and recently branched out to other cities and towns, expanding to wherever they were needed most, which seemed to be wherever the Power Rangers showed up. They were a private company with, arguably, more resources and more leeway than the police department. They were owned by Wesley Collins and Eric Myers and the branch of the company that was best known to Preston was run by Gia Holling and Jordan Myles. They had been the ones to rescue Sarah when she had been kidnapped by her mother and they had been the ones again to find her when two older boys in their school decided to attack Sarah. They had kept his best friend safe. Preston owed them.

So when he heard on the news about an attack against the Silver Guardians, he needed to learn more. Apparently, someone had tossed a home-made bomb into their shared backyard while their kids, who were only three years old, were playing. While the kids were now back at home, both had suffered injuries. The pejorative words shouted by the attacker as the bomb came over the fence indicated that the attack was related to Kelly's father article, and that it had something to do with the Silver Guardians defending LGBT people.

"They took it too far," his mother said as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a coffee. Preston turned away from the TV, fortunately as the news turned into weather, and glared at his mother.

They weren't on speaking terms. At least, Preston didn't want to speak with her. He didn't want anything to do with her. She didn't support the rights of everyone and she had made an unforgivable statement about Sarah without regret.

He scoffed at her. She sighed.

"Preston, I know we disagree on this, but give me a little credit here, won't you. I would never attack children like that."

"Just suggest someone should be raped," Preston muttered. His mother sat down across from him at the table.

"Preston, I just believe there is a right way and a wrong way to live. If you're going to make the wrong choices, you have to accept the consequences."

Preston picked up his bowl of cereal and dumped out the rest in the sink.

"Well, that's rude," she said. "Preston, when you're sitting at the table with someone, it's rude to get up when they're speaking."

Preston only glared at his mother. She sighed.

"You never used to be like this. Not until you met her," she said. "You used to be a good boy. Now…"

"I'm late to the hospital," Preston interrupted her, though what he said wasn't true. He wasn't expected at the hospital for another couple of hours, and Calvin wouldn't be by until twenty minutes before to pick him up. Preston had plenty of time but it was time he didn't want to spend with his mother.

"So you're going to visit her?"

"I'm spending the night at Brody's," he said, an arrangement he had already made with the red Ranger. Once he found out his mother's stance on the matter, and that she wasn't willing to bend or even respect the rights of others, Preston knew he needed to find somewhere else to stay. Brody had agreed to let him crash at his father's old home with him, until Preston could figure something else out. He had more than enough money to afford a hotel, but since the money did belong to his parents, and he was planning on moving out, he doubted they would be too happy to let him use it for much longer.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Mother, he's… fine, whatever. Yes, mother, Brody is my boyfriend."

"I knew it," his mother muttered. "Preston, I…"

"Bye," he said and walked out of the kitchen.

-Ninja-Steel-

The screams still echoed loudly in Gia's head as the bomb scene played itself repeatedly. The downside to a mind that remembered everything was that it was hard to forget the bad stuff. It had taken Gia years to stop seeing Cliff every time she closed her eyes, and longer still before the nightmares stopped being so vivid. She knew she was back in the same boat, only this time, it was her daughter who was hurt.

"Earth to Gia," Jordan called out as he came back into the truck with two coffees in his hand. He and Gia were back at work, but he could tell his partner's head wasn't into it. He sighed as he offered her a coffee. "Gia, the kids are fine."

"Huh?" she turned to him, startled. Jordan knew when she had her flashbacks, she was somewhere else entirely. Her body had been in the car, but her mind had travelled back to the night before. He started to second guess getting the usual coffee for her.

"Do I need to call in for a new partner?" he asked. "Gia…"

"I want this case."

"I need you to be with me," he told her. "I need you completely focused on this. If you're going to…"

"I want this case," Gia insisted.

"Do you have my back?"

"Yes."

"Alright. So, do we have any leads?"

Gia had been outside when the attack happened, and while the wooden fence had kept her from seeing whoever threw the bomb, she was still the best witness they had. She remembered exactly what had been said and she knew she would recognize the voice again when she heard it.

"We start with Mr. Saunders," Gia told Jordan.

"You don't think he did this, do you?"

"No," Gia shook her head. "But his article started this. We have to see what he knows."

"Do you remember where he lives?" Jordan asked, then sighed loudly when Gia gave him a funny look. "Right, right, I'm sorry. Just, tell me where to go."


	3. Questions Without Answers

While he wasn't on speaking terms with his daughter anymore, when her school blew up and she was one of the victims, Kent Saunders was interested. He wanted to cover the story, especially since the Rangers had to show up to stop the monster causing the earthquakes, and he hoped, since his daughter was a victim, he could get more witnesses to talk.

So he had been up all night, and he was still working on writing the story in the morning when he heard a loud beating on his door. With a grumble he went to open it, ready to chew out whoever was on the other side. He barely got the door open when he was grabbed, pulled out onto his patio and shoved to the ground.

"What the hell?" he shouted and looked up, finding the Silver Guardians were staring him down. He had meant them earlier, when they believed he was linked to what they wanted to call a crime (he called it karma).

"Where is your computer?" Gia barked.

"It's inside. You can't go in there. I demand to know what this is about," he said from the ground.

"What do you think?" Gia asked. "That fucking article, the one you wrote that started all this mess."

"The Gay Agenda?"

"No, the other one," Gia rolled her eyes. "Of course, you idiot!"

"This is police brutality," he said. "You can't speak like that, and you certainly can't call me names and…"

"Hey, Gia," Jordan said with a little smirk as he turned to his partner. "Remind me again who this guy is? It's the one who kicked his daughter out of the house, right?"

"That's the guy."

"And he did try to literally kick her out of the house, right?" Jordan asked. "Not like, in the figurative sense, but literally."

"Yes."

"And he would have done it, had a friend not stepped in, right?"

"That's him."

"Think maybe his daughter might want to press charges?"

"I know I would," Gia said and she and Jordan turned to leave. Kent rose to his feet and called them back.

"Wait, hold on. Just… tell me what this is about and maybe we can talk."

Gia and Jordan stopped halfway down the yard, glanced at each other, then turned back to Kent. He gestured inside.

"I can make a pot of coffee."

Kent led the two Silver Guardians inside and started the coffee maker. They looked around his kitchen, as he expected they would. Fortunately, he knew they wouldn't find anything. He was a man of words, not a man of action. He liked to write about his ideas, his beliefs, and the actions of other people.

"I've been up all night writing an investigative piece on those earthquakes," he said. "I've been in my office all night, so I'm not really sure why you guys would be back here."

"Have there been any new comments on your article?" Jordan asked.

"Tons," he nodded. "I don't read them all, who can, but there are still new comments popping up. Not as many as before, mind you. It's starting to become old news. That's why I need my next piece to be good. I need my name out there again."

"Oh, don't worry, it's still out there," Gia said as she checked under the kitchen sink, examining his cleaning supplies, while Jordan looked through the pantry. Since they had asked to see his computer, it was a little strange they were checking in his cabinets.

"Is there anything I can help you find?" he asked.

"You were home all night?" Jordan said and Kent nodded his head.

"I went to investigate the earthquakes, but for the past few days I've either been here or at the office. I have alibis."

"Let's see your computer then," Jordan asked and Kent went to grab it. He set it down on the table and let Gia and Jordan go through it. They whispered to each other, and Kent couldn't make out what they were saying as he poured their coffees.

"We're going to hang onto this."

"I need my laptop for work," he said. "I'm a journalist for an online company and my computer is how I publish my stories. If you take it, I can't work, I can't make money."

"We'll need you to talk a little more, then," Gia told him with a threatening glare. "Has anyone reached out to you about your article?"

"A lot of people. I've finally given the oppressed a voice."

"Your definition of oppressed needs a little tweaking," Gia stated. "But does anyone stand out to you?"

"In what way?"

"Anyone seem especially aggressive?"

"Towards me? Why? Have the fags made threats? If someone has, I want to press charges."

"There are no threats, Mr. Saunders," Jordan assured him. "Don't worry. Unlike some people, you are completely safe. Unfortunately, there's been another attack, and we think it's linked again to what you wrote."

"I can write what I want, you know."

"We know," Jordan nodded. "It's just, since you're the one that started everything, we think some people may come to you. You know, to tell you how much they agree with you, to share in your beliefs, pick your brain, confess some… bad things."

"Like what?"

"Like, maybe someone felt like they could tell you about a plan they had. Run their ideas by you, see what you think. Does that ring a bell?"

"I mean, I've been pretty busy with my new story," Kent answered. "But you can check the comment section online. Someone may have said something there."

"But no one reached out to you?"

"No."

"Two young children were hurt in the attack," Gia said. "They were playing, in their own backyard, when someone threw a bomb and injured them. Mr. Saunders, whatever you do belief, you have to know that kids are innocent, right?"

"Are they okay?"

"They'll be fine," Jordan said. "But despite your beliefs, you have to understand that we want to get whoever is responsible for this attack. Hurting kids has to have crossed the line, right?"

"Right," Mr. Saunders nodded. "Look, I can't say you and I will ever see eye to eye, but if something fishy does come up in my email or I spot something online, I can let you know."

"And we can trust you to help us out?"

"Absolutely," Mr. Saunders promised.

"Good. You know our number," Jordan said and he and Gia got up. They walked themselves out of the house. Once outside, Gia asked Jordan for the keys to the truck. "Are you okay to drive?"

"Fine," Gia nodded. Jordan tossed her the keys, then as they walked down the driveway, past Kent's car, Jordan could hear the all too familiar sound of the keys scratching the side. Gia who was closer to the truck than him, climbed into the passenger seat, and when Jordan hopped into the car, she gave him back the keys.

"I should report you," he said.

"A homophobic man writes a confrontational article on how gays are bad and need to be taken care of and kicks his own daughter out of the house. You know just as well I do that getting his car keyed is literally the nicest thing I can do to him, right?"

"He won't want to help once he sees that."

"He was never going to help," Gia shook her head. "Jordan, he's going to consider what we just told him. He's going to find out it was our kids who were attacked and he'll know I have two moms. He gave us nothing, he knows nothing, but he did start this. He has the right to attack my family, I have the right to key his car."

"I want a new partner," Jordan muttered as he started the truck and drove off. "You give me headaches."

"Pretty sure the crack in your butthead doesn't help much either," Gia smirked.


	4. Thousands Of Comments

There was a knock at the door shortly after Gia put Ciara to bed. She thought maybe it might be Emma or Jordan coming by to keep her company, since Jake couldn't be home for another couple of days. Gia had told him about the attack and he made it a priority to take some time off work. Unfortunately, since he was out of the country, arrangements needed to be made both for travel and for work, which kept him busy, and since Ciara was alright, he knew there was no rush. If he took a little time to ensure that he would be covered while he took time off, he would be able to stay at home longer.

Gia knew it killed him to be away at a time like this. Joe had benefitted from having both his parents to comfort him while he was scared and hurt. His mother's soft hands and even softer kisses made his burns and cuts feel better, and his father's strong arms made him feel safe. Ciara wouldn't have her brave, strong father for another couple of days, and while Gia could also provide her daughter with safety and love, she knew Ciara also wanted her daddy around.

A part of Gia also hoped it was Jake, coming home early as a surprise. When she opened the door, it was someone she didn't expect. She was a little disappointed, but she did smile and welcome her surprise guest in.

"Come in, Sarah," she stepped out of the way. Sarah walked into the house, set her hoverboard down and then offered the flowers she brought with her.

"These are from Kelly."

"Kelly?" Gia asked. She had heard about the earthquakes and the school collapsing. She knew Kelly as one of the victims of the incident. From what she heard, Kelly was in the hospital recovering from a surgery that had just barely saved her from having her leg amputated. Why would Kelly, of all people, be sending Sarah to deliver flowers?

"They're sympathy flowers, and apology flowers," Sarah explained. "You know, because her dad's a dick and because we heard what happened to your kids."

"You really didn't need to do that," Gia accepted the flowers and brought them into the kitchen to put them in a vase. Sarah followed.

"She feels badly about it, though. We both do. All this started because we're together and…"

"This started because her dad is a douche," Gia clarified. "You girls had nothing to do with it."

"I tried to tell her that," Sarah nodded. "I guess I have a bit of a hard time believing it myself, though."

"So you came all this way for flowers?"

"And to see if I could help," Sarah said. "I mean, you did so much for me and…"

"Sarah, I earned myself a pretty paycheck after that. Besides, I was glad I could help. You don't owe me."

"I want to help," Sarah insisted. "Kelly would be here too but she's still in recovery so…"

"I appreciate the gesture," Gia looked to Sarah with a smile, "But trust me, kid, we've got things under control here."

"I know how the bomb was made," Sarah told Gia. "It's a chemical bomb, made with household cleaning products."

"I know. Anyone with access to the internet can figure out how to make one."

Sarah nodded. She knew she wasn't likely to convince Gia with that bit of help, since the bomb itself had been rather simple, but she thought her next idea might help.

"I know it's probably not the best idea," she said. "But ever since that article came up, I've been following the comments. All the good ones, the bad ones, the really bad ones."

"Jordan and I are going through them," Gia assured her. "If there's something to find…"

"There is," Sarah said. "There are thousands of comments, and the replies to some of them have reached the hundreds and… it would take forever to read them all. I know, because… I have read them all. And I think there's one you might want to consider."

Sarah unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket and placed it on the kitchen island. It was circled in pink highlighter. Gia read it over.

"We can stop this spreading to the next generation," she read aloud and turned to Sarah. "So?"

"I know it doesn't look like much," Sarah said. "But from what I heard, the attack was right in your backyard, where your kids play, and it was while they were outside. You said the attacker would have had to know that there were kids there when it happened, because Ciara and Joe were both squealing, right?"

"They were having a blast," Gia nodded. "They love it out there. Now I can't even get Ciara to look out the back door."

"You told me before you had two moms. You were subtle about it so I wasn't sure how open you were with sharing that. So I looked you up. Just like that bomb, anyone with access to the internet can do a quick search on you and find a whole bunch of information, like where you live, what you do, who you were, and that you have two moms."

"It's part of being transparent," Gia nodded her head. "The less I have to hide, the more my community can… wait a minute, where I live?"

"Uh huh," Sarah nodded her head and brought out her phone, showing Gia the webpage, "How do you think I found you?"

"How did someone find out where I lived?" Gia asked. "Jordan and I purposely moved to Harwood to get away from where we work to keep our kids safe. We intentionally hired Troy and Rebecca to work this city so there would be no conflict."

"Someone found out. I mean, with everything out there, it's really not that hard to do," Sarah said. "Besides, you're kind of the only person I know who owns a Tiger, so you do stand out."

Gia nodded her head. Sarah raised a good point. Though she never wanted her address posted anywhere, it was likely to get out.

"Anyways," Sarah continued. "Whoever threw the bomb knew about your mothers, and their comments about stopping the spread to the next generation has to mean the kids. You know, the ones everyone claims will be hurt by us? How growing up with gay parents or seeing gay people will turn kids gay too. It's all over the other comments, and in other things this guy's written, he agrees with that stuff too. That's what's in green. I highlighted all his posts."

"You really put a lot of work into this," Gia said.

"Kelly's meds make her sleep a lot," Sarah shrugged. "This guy alludes to kids in his original post, he knows you have a daughter and a nephew with two grandmothers, all he had to do was swing by, toss the bottle over the fence if he heard the kids playing and, well, you know the rest."

"I can't say this is crazy," Gia said to Sarah as she skimmed through all the highlighted posts. Everything he was saying was about kids, and protecting the future generation from becoming as messed up as the current. Gia couldn't be sure if his end goal had been the kill the kids, or if he just wanted to send a message, but he did seem like the most likely suspect.

"I've read through everything," Sarah insisted to Gia. "And by everything, I mean _everything_. I really think this guy is good for it."

"It's a better lead than anything else we have," Gia nodded her head. She handed back Sarah's papers. "Do me a favour, kid. My partner lives right next door. Take this to him. Tell him exactly what you told me."


	5. A Little Help

Sarah couldn't believe this was happening to her. It wasn't a dream come true, but it was certainly going to be an adventure.

After showing up at Gia's door with what she thought were some pretty good clues, she now found herself in the Silver Guardian HQ. They were trying to find the person who wrote the comments, hoping it would lead them straight to their suspect.

"I have a location," Sarah said. "It's an address in Summer Cove."

"He drove all the way out here for the attack?" Jordan asked. Sarah shrugged her shoulders as she showed the address to the two officers.

"That's a library," Gia said when she looked up the address. "Anyone could have made those comments."

"I can track which computer was used for every single comment," Sarah pointed out. "And I already know it was the same one, and their timestamps take place over a couple of days, which means this person always used the same computer."

"We can check the cameras at the times he was on the computer," Jordan said. "We can get a face, run it through the system and hopefully get another lead."

"Wait…" Sarah frowned and leaned in closer to the screen, "Uh, guys… Kelly's dad just wrote a reply."

"Bastard said he'd tell us if he saw anything," Gia grumbled. Jordan looked to her with a frown.

"He probably saw you keyed his car."

"He's telling your suspect that you're onto him," Sarah said, then looked up at Jordan and Gia, "Well, I mean, that can't be news, right? He set off a bomb in your backyard. He has to know you'll be out there looking for him."

"Has he replied?" Gia asked. Sarah shook her head.

"No. But it's the middle of the night. The library is closed."

"I want someone at that library as soon as it opens," Gia told Jordan. "Get Troy and Rebecca on this."

"Rebecca?" Jordan asked her. "Seriously? You want to put our blind officer undercover in a library?"

"There are braille books," Sarah said. "It wasn't just Summer Cove High that tried to be inclusive. The whole city is pretty great."

"Except for the now three people we've had to arrest from your city," Gia said. "Get Rebecca and Troy down there and have them watch that computer. Any suspicious activity, and they jump. Got it?"

"I'll pass that along," Jordan nodded. Sarah turned around in her chair and looked up at Gia.

"So what can I do?"

"Go home to your girlfriend."

"I can help," Sarah said. "I got you this far, didn't I?"

"We appreciate that, but…"

"I know technically I'm a civilian, but I'm also a Ranger. It's not like I'm not used to danger. Only this time, they won't be monsters I'm fighting, they'll be…"

"People are monsters too," Gia informed Sarah. "And as soon as you begin to underestimate them, that's when…"

"My mom's a drug-addicted, alcoholic prostitute, I was raised by an abusive pimp for four years, and then later kidnapped by the two of them twice. People I barely knew tried to beat me up on the street for no reason except that I am bisexual and now someone threw a bomb at babies over this whole mess," Sarah said. "Trust me, these people aren't the ones being underestimated here. I can help. I want to help."

"Alright, point taken," Gia said. "Where do you think you would be most useful?"

"Kelly's dad," Sarah pointed to the screen. "If he's trying to help this guy, he's involved somehow. I can get him to admit how."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"People don't think straight when they're angry," Sarah smirked.

-Ninja-Steel-

There was banging on his door once again, only this time it didn't seem so loud. Kent got up from his work chair and made his way to the door, grumbling as he did.

"What?" he barked when the door opened and his blood instantly boiled. It was Sarah Thompson. The girl who turned his daughter.

"Pull the article," she demanded.

"You have some nerve coming here," he growled and looked around, seeing there was no one else. She had come alone. "You turn my daughter, you steal her clothes, what more do you want?"

"I want you to pull the article," Sarah said. "It's causing way too much trouble! Babies are getting hurt now."

"You should have thought of that before you converted my daughter into a lesbian," Kent scoffed.

"I didn't convert anyone," Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, I'm sure you're already aware, but those babies that were attacked were the kids of the Silver Guardians, so they aren't going to be taking this lightly. They're going to go after everyone they can. If you pull the article, in an act of good faith…"

"Good faith to who?" Kent asked. "I did a little research of my own. Those Guardians are just as bad, if not worse, than you."

"Because they have two moms?"

"They let their kids in that environment. If my daughter, who I kept away from all that crap, can be so easily influenced, imagine the kind of damage this is doing to their kids."

"Do you think being bisexual is hurting me?"

"Bisexual, huh? So you had the choice to be normal, and you still decided to fuck up my daughter?"

"You're feeding people with the belief that saying and doing this kind of crap is right," Sarah said. "As soon as you wrote that article, you became responsible for the fallout of everything. Gia and Jordan, all they have to do is find something small, and they could throw your ass in prison for…"

"For what?" Kent asked. "I wrote an article, it's called free speech. And I've been harassed for it ever since."

"You think that's all you did?" Sarah asked and then held up her evidence. It was the comments she had from Gia and Jordan's suspect, again highlighted in pink and green, and then Kent's reply as well, highlighted in blue. "So, then, you won't care, at all, if I send this in to the Silver Guardians, then?"

Kent snatched the papers from her and read through it. He had to admit, his comment _"They're looking for you. You better lay low for a while."_ looked pretty damning. So he tore up the papers.

"Hand what in?"

"Dude, it's a print out and highlighters," Sarah said with an eye roll. "I can just go home, print it out again and hand it in."

"You wouldn't…"

Sarah shrugged, then turned to walk away. She didn't make it very far before Kent grabbed her and pulled her into his house. He slammed the door shut and then pushed her into it.

"What's it going to take to get you to leave my family alone?" he asked.

"I may not have proof you had anything to do with my attack," Sarah glared at him, "but I do have proof you know something about what happened to those babies. I'm not letting you get away with that."

Sarah grabbed the door handle and tried to leave, but Kent grabbed her. She easily could have pulled herself free, but she decided to see how far he would take this. If he was going to get himself into more trouble, Sarah wasn't about to stop him.


	6. Not Human

Rebecca sat at a table facing the computers, with a braille book in her hand. Troy was across the library, by the bookshelves, keeping an eye on the people who came in and used the computer in question. Sarah had been able to pinpoint the exact computer their suspect liked to use, so Troy had planted a monitoring device, which fed all online activity to his police tablet. However, since they were aware that Kent Saunders had tipped off their suspect, he had also planted devices on the other computers as well. Troy was glad they had, since a young boy was sitting at the computer in question, playing Minecraft.

"Don't all kids have cell phones now?" Troy muttered into his mic to his sister.

"You don't let Ryan have one," she whispered back.

"But don't most kids? Why does this one have to play here?"

"Don't know," Rebecca shrugged.

"Hey, incoming," Troy muttered as a man walked in. "You see him?"

Rebecca nodded her head. Despite being blind, she did have some ability to see. Her animal spirit was a dolphin, and just like the dolphin, she could use echolocation to get a sense of her surroundings. So long as there was a noise, such as footsteps or someone speaking, Rebecca's mind could use the vibrations to create an image. The more noise, the better she could see.

"I've got my eyes on him," Rebecca said.

The man walked over to the computer station, then sat down two spots away from the little boy. He opened the internet browser.

"Oh my god," Troy whispered.

"Is it him?"

"He's playing Pokémon."

"Ooh, fun!"

"He's not our guy."

"Do you know what site he's on?"

"Becca!"

"Sorry. I'm just curious," Rebecca said.

"You can't see Pokémon. How do you even play?"

"I play with Ryan, alright?" Rebecca glanced down at her book for a moment, then back up when she heard the library door open again. "Aha! Male. Twenty."

"Rebecca."

"Am I right?"

"Ish," Troy sighed. Working with his sister could be fun on some days. She was a blind Guardian, and while it often had its challenges, Rebecca had learned to make her job fun. She couldn't see suspects and security cameras and witness descriptions were often useless to her unless they described a scent or sound, but sometimes, she liked to make guesses about people's appearances. "Late teens, early twenties."

"Same thing," Rebecca scoffed.

"He's acting pretty suspicious," Troy said. "He's looking to our computer. I think he feels something off."

"Yeah, the kid playing Minecraft in a library," Rebecca nodded. "Just, don't act all cop-ish, alright?"

"I'm not acting cop-ish."

"So then pick up a book and pretend to read the back of it," Rebecca said and Troy did as she instructed. It had been a while since he had even glanced at the bookshelf. Rebecca must not have heard him take out a book and assumed his eyes were fixed on his tablet. "He sat down. Eighth computer."

"Not his usual, but since Minecraft needs to be played today, I guess he adapted," Troy muttered. "I'm checking in. Just emails."

"How is Pokemon doing?"

"Rebecca… huh, that's strange," Troy frowned as he saw the man's email list. "There's absolutely nothing here except emails about comments he's left."

"Comments, as in…"

"About the article. Give him a minute, let him open the latest… it's him. Becca, go in."

Rebecca nodded her head, closed her book and stood up. She walked over towards the computer station, looking a little lost. She eventually bumped into the man at the eighth computer and started to apologize. She made sure to keep the book in his sight and to look directly at him in the hopes he noticed she was blind.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I'm normally so much better than this," she said. "I'm new to town, though, and don't know the library just yet, though, so…"

"Whatever, it's fine," the man said and brushed her off. "I'm working here."

"Actually, I could use a little help. I finished this book and I don't know where the book return is. Can you help?"

"Over there," he said and pointed off to the distance. For Rebecca, usually his words would be enough so she could see where he was pointing, but he didn't need to know that.

"Can you be a little more specific?"

The man sighed loudly, logged off the computer and then got up. He walked with Rebecca over to the book return by the front desk.

"Here. Now leave me…"

"You're under arrest," Rebecca said and pushed him down on the counter. She pulled his hands behind his back as Troy rushed out to help her. "Silver Guardian. Hold still."

The man just laughed.

-Ninja-Steel-

"Come on, Sarah," Gia grumbled as she listened to her earpiece. It was connected to a wire on Sarah, allowing Gia and Jordan to keep track of her even while she was inside Kent's house. Sarah had promised that if she ran into trouble, she would use their codeword milk. Until then, she had insisted the Silver Guardians let whatever happen, happen.

"We should just go in there," Jordan insisted. "She wasn't supposed to go inside. If he finds that wire on her…"

"She's a Ranger, Jordan. She'll be fine."

Jordan has his doubts, but he knew his partner. She would never let anyone else get hurt. If Gia trusted this plan, even if it wasn't going as planned, then he couldn't question it. He sat in their truck, just down the street, listening to his ear piece. Sarah was doing a good job of upsetting Kent, and as she continued to rile him up, he was starting to tell more and more.

" _It wasn't really my idea to write the article in the first place,"_ he admitted, to which Jordan was surprised. Kent had taken pride in his work, now it seemed it wasn't even his doing. _"Some kid approached me, said this would be a good way to get revenge on you."_

" _How?"_ Sarah asked her, though her voice was starting to sound more frustrated and annoyed as well. To Jordan, it really seemed like she was on the brink of calling milk.

" _He said it would get people riled up. Once enough anger was out there, all I had to do was bring up your name and he would take care of the rest."_

"Why is he confessing to her?" Gia asked.

"He doesn't know about the wire," Jordan reminded her.

"Which means he doesn't plan on letting her go," Gia turned to Jordan, finally showing a worried look. "We need eyes in there."

Jordan nodded his head and turned on his own mic, "Emma? Can you hear me?"

" _Loud and clear."_

"Can you see anything?"

" _He took her out of sight. The basement, I think."_

"The basement?"

" _I've got pictures. Jordan, they really don't look good."_

"Gia trusts that she's fine. We can't go breaking cover yet."

" _I just hope she's a really convincing actress, then,"_ Emma said.

" _What did he mean by that?"_ Jordan and Gia heard Sarah ask.

" _I don't really know. I just know he said he was going to stir shit up."_

" _And how does attacking babies hurt me?"_

" _You're here, aren't you? Clearly he knows what he's doing."_

" _Uh, Jordan,"_ this time it was Rebecca's voice over the walkie. Jordan picked it up and told Gia to keep listening to Sarah and Kent's conversation.

"Yeah, Becca?"

" _You know that suspect we have?"_

"He showed up?"

" _He showed up, we tried to arrest him and… well, there's something not human about him."_

"What do you mean?"

" _He fought back. Troy and I thought, you know, he's just being a criminal, but he was tough. Troy morphed, I used my gun, and he still bested us."_

"Troy morphed?" Jordan asked, sparking Gia's attention.

" _Yeah, and the asshole got away."_

" _Uh, are we expecting anyone else to be in the house?"_ it was Emma's turn to cut in. Jordan switched to his mic.

"He's got a wife."

" _Well, if by wife you mean much younger husband, then this isn't his wife. I've got a twenty-something male entering the house from the backdoor. This looks pretty shady to me."_

"Heh, backdoor," Gia chuckled and glanced to Jordan. "Homophobe's got a man entering through his backdoor."

"Should we move in?" Jordan asked. Gia turned on her mic.

"Sarah, we're just checking in. Are you okay?"

There was no immediate answer, but it wasn't a cause for alarm on it's own. Sarah was supposed to keep her wire hidden. That meant she couldn't respond to Jordan and Gia as soon as they asked. If she didn't ask for milk, they had no reason to assume there was trouble.

" _Hey, I know you!"_ Sarah suddenly said. _"You work for…"_

Her voice was silenced there. Since it cut out too quickly, meaning she hadn't trailed off by choice, Gia made the call.

"Go! Go!" she shouted to Jordan who raced out of the truck with her and the two bolted down the street. Just as they approached Kent's house, they saw him and a young man running the other direction. Gia called into her mic. "Emma, I've got both in my sights. No sign of Sarah. Head inside now!"

Jordan spoke into his walkie as he kept running next to Gia, trying to pursue Kent and the new suspect, "Rebecca, Troy, I need you guys to get your asses here ASAP! Both suspects are fleeing on foot and… WHAT THE FUCK!" he shouted when, suddenly, the man jumped and disappeared into the sky, leaving Kent on his own and very confused.

The older man could run, but he couldn't get far. Gia ran after him and tackled him to the ground as Jordan slowed to a stop and pointed his gun.

"Kent Saunders, you're under arrest for… whatever the fuck just happened," Gia said as she pulled him up to his feet, keeping his hands behind his back. "If I were you, I would shut up and hire the best lawyer I could afford."

"He… he just disappeared," Kent muttered and looked to Jordan and Gia in horror. "How did he do that?"

"Good question," Jordan said and spoke into his walkie again. "Uh, Troy, Rebecca. One suspect in custody and the other got away on… disappearance."

" _Oh what?"_ Troy asked.

"I don't know. We don't have a code for suddenly vanishes into the sky," Jordan shrugged. "Just… good effort, you two, we'll take it from here."

" _You sure you don't want me coming down?"_ Rebecca asked. _"My dolphin senses might pick up on something you can't see."_

"He really just vanished," Jordan explained. "I think you're right. I think there's something not human about him. If he's spotted again, approach with caution. Emma…"

" _I've got Sarah,"_ Emma said.

Kent called out, "I'm serious. I'm in over my head here. You have to help me."

"What do you mean?" Jordan asked. Suddenly, something fell from the sky. Before Gia or Jordan had time to see what it was, it blew up.


	7. It Happened Suddenly

Emma heard the blast from Kent's basement and felt her blood run cold. She looked to Sarah and then raced upstairs. The windows had all been blown in and glass covered the floor. Emma raced out to the street and there she saw nothing except three bodies on the ground. None of them were moving. "Jordan!" she shouted and ran to her husband. She had to lift Kent off him, and in doing so found the man was dead. She hoped Jordan didn't share the same fate, but it seemed likely. His arms were badly burned and there was blood.

"Jordan?" she called again but he wouldn't wake. There were sirens in the distance. Emma checked to see if he was breathing and he wasn't. "No… no, come on! Don't do this!"

And ambulance arrived down the street, with the paramedics racing out. Emma called them over to Jordan and then despite what felt right, she took a step back and watched as one worked on him and the other tried to revive Kent.

Emma couldn't peel her eyes off Jordan, but she knew he wasn't her only concern. She looked around, finding Gia's body laying around a little way off and in a similar state as Jordan and Kent.

There were more sirens in the background. This time, when they approached, Emma recognized them as belonging to Troy and Rebecca's truck. It wasn't the second ambulance Gia needed, but at least there was someone else.

Emma approached her best friend and dropped down to her knees next to her. She felt her whole body go numb.

-Ninja-Steel-

Kelly was in her hospital room, watching the news on TV with a heavy heart. Another bomb had gone off, and this one appeared lethal.

" _No one knows who planted the bomb, which has already claimed the life of journalist Kent Saunders, but the Silver Guardians are assuming that this is linked to their current case involving a homemade bomb that was launched into the backyard of Officer Holing and Officer Myles, both of whom are being taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. In their absence, Officers Burrows and Daniels will be taking the lead on this investigation."_

A tear rolled down Kelly's cheek. Preston wiped it away for her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Kelly shook her head.

"I shouldn't care," she said. "He kicked me out. He wanted nothing to do with me."

"He's still your dad," Preston said. "It's okay if it hurts."

"I wonder if mom was home," Kelly looked to Preston. "They didn't mention her at all. Or Sarah."

"No news is good news," Preston reminded her.

"Sarah's supposed to be with them," Kelly said. "She went to help. What if she was too close to the bomb and…"

"Don't think like that," Preston shook his head. "Sarah's just fine. You know how tough she is."

-Ninja-Steel-

Sarah was in the ambulance with Gia, while Emma had ridden in the other one with Jordan. She watched the paramedics work, despite how terrified she felt. They had already only promised to do what they could for Gia. Sarah knew that was medical speak for ' _it's looking bad'._ She just hoped Gia and Jordan could both find a way to pull through.

When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the paramedics took Gia out and rolled her into the building. Sarah stayed behind, not sure what to do with herself now. She walked into the waiting room and saw Emma there speaking to a doctor, trying to learn more.

Her heart went out to the former pink Ranger. She knew Gia and Jordan's injuries were just part of the job, and they worked everyday knowing it could be their last. Still, somehow, it didn't seem fair. They had gotten Kelly's dad, they found their other suspect. They won.

They should have won.

"We'll know more once we're out of surgery," Sarah heard the doctor say to Emma and then he rushed off. Emma crumbled to the ground. Sarah made her way over and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry," she said. Emma didn't answer. She could only look down at her fists.

"What am I going to tell the kids?" she asked eventually. "They… they aren't going to get it. Ciara screamed this morning when we dropped her off with her grandmothers. She still needs her mom. And Joe… Oh god, Joe needs a dad."

"We don't know what's going to happen yet," Sarah said. She didn't know Jordan's condition, but Gia had been in and out of consciousness on the ride to the hospital. Sarah had to hope that was a good sign that she was holding on. "They might still have their parents."

"Emma!"

The former pink Ranger looked up and saw Jake standing by the door. When he noticed her on the floor he rushed over. Emma jumped to her feet and caught him in a tight hug as she burst into tears. Jake held her tight.

"It's okay," he told her. "It's going to be okay."

Sarah noticed the tears in his eyes as he tried to comfort Emma. He was trying to be strong. Meanwhile, behind Jake, other people walked in. They saw Jake and Emma and made their way over. Sarah wasn't sure, but she thought maybe this was the rest of the Ranger team; those who hadn't gone on to be Silver Guardians.

So she stepped back to give them some privacy and made her way upstairs. There, she found Kelly in her room and Preston sitting with her. They looked relieved to see her, and Sarah noticed they were keeping up with the news.

"Are you okay?" Kelly asked while Preston got up to give her a hug. Sarah nodded, squeezed Preston tight and then made her way over. Kelly scooted over in the bed slightly, making room for Sarah.

"It all happened so fast," Sarah said. "We did it. We had won. And then this bomb comes up out of nowhere. Emma and I get upstairs and it's just… their bodies."

Sarah remembered the scene vividly and her eyes widened suddenly. She turned to Kelly and only then noticed her cheeks were stained red from tears, "Oh god, Kelly!"

"No, no, it's okay," Kelly shook her head. She wanted to mourn her father, who so far was the only confirmed death from the explosion, but she knew now wasn't the time. Sarah had been at ground zero and had been helping the people who were now hurt. Hell, they had saved Sarah a couple times already.

Kelly had wanted to sever her relationship with her father, and while it hurt now that it was a reality, she knew she needed to push her feelings aside. She wrapped her girlfriend up in her arms. "Let's just pray he's the only one, okay?"


	8. The Silence Breaks

Brody knew it was up to him to reach out. He, Levi, Calvin and Hayley met with Sarah and Preston in Kelly's room. They listened as Sarah explained to them what happened in the explosion.

She told them what she knew. She had gone to help, hoping to stop the war that had started. She told them how everything had worked out. They had Kent in custody, they knew who had thrown the homemade bomb. They won.

She told them how it all turned so fast.

"They were Rangers too," Sarah explained. "The Megaforce team, from Harwood. Gia was yellow, Emma was pink, Troy was red. The rest of them are here too."

"Noah, Jake and Orion," Kelly said. "Dad was one of the guys to write about their identities when they were public."

"We should help where we can," Brody suggested and led the Rangers out. Sarah kissed Kelly's cheek as she followed her friends. They found the other Rangers sitting in an empty hospital room, where the staff had allowed them some privacy. Brody knocked gently on the door and Sarah opened it.

"Any news?" she asked, looking to Emma. The former pink Ranger shook her head.

"Not yet," she answered and turned to her team, "Guys, this is Sarah. She was with us, helping Jordan and Gia with Mr. Saunders."

"Hey," Sarah said. She then gestured to her team, "Uh, this is Brody, Hayley, Calvin, Preston and Levi. They're my team."

"Team?" Orion asked.

"Rangers," Emma told him. "Just like us."

"We wish it could be under better circumstances," Troy said as he got up and shook Brody's hand. Brody gave a little nod.

"Same. If there's anything we can do to right now, just let us know."

"Just keep up the good work," Troy said. "It's always good to know the Rangers are giving it their best."

There was another knock on the door. This time, a doctor walked in.

"Is there a Mr. Holling?" he asked and Jake stood up with a loud gulp. This was it. Good or bad. He needed it to be either good or bad news. It had only been a few hours and he was sick and tired of the limbo.

"The surgery was a success," the doctor said and Jake let out a loud sigh of relief. "We've stopped the bleeding, closed up the wounds and your wife is responding well. If everything continues to go according to plan, she will recover. She's being moved to ICU now where she will be monitored, but we are optimistic."

"Thank you," Jake managed to say.

"That robotic heart of hers is what you should be thanking," the doctor said. "It was unaffected by the trauma and continued to beat, allowing us to replace the lost blood without any issues. Whoever designed it saved her life."

Jake instantly spun around to look at Noah. His best friend hadn't designed the heart, but when Gia's heart nearly gave out while pregnant with Ciara, he had been the one to work night and day to bring back Tensou, who was then able to make repairs. Jake made his way over to his best friend and swallowed him in a tight hug.

"Princess Emma saved the day too, huh," Rebecca said as she gently nudged Emma. The pink Ranger shrugged her shoulders.

"That's not something you hear often."

"Ever," Rebecca said. "But sounds like she would have been much worse off if you hadn't… you know, already almost killed her once."

"I know you're trying, but it's not helping," Emma told Rebecca honestly then shifted her attention to the doctor. "Any news on Jordan yet?"

"I wasn't working on his case," the doctor answered, "but I can find out for you."

"Please."

He nodded and left the room. Jake smiled for just another couple of moments before it fell. His wife was out of the woods and now recovering, and since she had promised him she would always fight to come home, he knew in his heart it would all work out. But there was still the matter of Jordan and what would happen to him.

It had only been a few minutes since Jake had been in Emma's position, so he reached out and took her hand. Emma looked to him with a smile. She was still scared, though hearing good news about her best friend had cheered her up a little bit.

Eventually, the doctor returned, and he would only state that the surgery was still on-going, even when he was pressed for more answers. He then left.

All the Rangers sat in silence for another hour. A few, quick questions were asked and some statements were made for the sake of breaking the silence. Eventually, another doctor walked in.

"Mrs. Myles?" he called and Emma stood up. Jake squeezed her hand tight and stood with her. He prayed this was good news for Emma to.

The doctor looked to Emma, "Can you come with me, please?"

Emma felt her heart sink. The doctor stepped out of the room and held the door open. Emma stood frozen.

"Come on," Jake said and pulled on her hand gently. He was sure she didn't want to be alone. He kept a hold of her hand, but wrapped one arm around her shoulders and walked her out. "I'll be right there with you, okay."

He took her out of the room. The Rangers who stayed didn't move. They barely breathed as they waited.

A loud cry filled the space, breaking the silence.


	9. Presents

Emma had been told Jordan was too close to the blast. He lost too much blood, his heart suffered under the strain and his lungs had collapsed. The doctor stated he had tried everything he could, but that Jordan had been a lost cause from the moment he arrived at the hospital. Surgery wouldn't help him.

She had been told days ago, though it still felt like she was just hearing those words.

" _I'm sorry, Mrs. Myles. He's dead."_

She had screamed. She still wanted to scream, but she couldn't.

She was home now. Joe, who was still sporting some scars from the backyard bomb was half-playing with the toy police car he had received the previous Christmas. Ciara was with him, offering any toy she could think of that would cheer up her cousin. Emma could see the pain on the little girl's face too.

Both children were aware they had different parents. Ciara loved Jake and Gia fondly, and there was no one in her life who could take their place. Joe was the spitting image of his father, and shared a lot in common with him too, but he was also a momma's boy at heart. However, despite having different parents, Ciara and Joe were more like siblings than cousins. They spent every day together and it was planned that they would grow up together.

That was still the plan.

Gia and Emma always wanted their children to be close and as a result, the two separate families had blended into one. It was complicated at times, but it worked for everyone. Gia and Jordan had dangerous careers, and they would often be working nights. When that happened, Ciara and Joe could still depend on having both Emma and Jake at home. A loving maternal and paternal figure. Emma's job came with a lot of paperwork, and sometimes she would stay at work late to get it done. On those nights, Gia and Jordan would be home early, and Joe could still run excitedly into the arms of a mother who loved him just as much as his own.

Jake's career required him to travel and be away from home for weeks at a time. In those cases, Ciara would still have a father figure in her life daily through Jordan. He would come into her bedroom at night when the monsters were haunting her and chase them off.

Both kids had lost a father, and Emma didn't know how she could help them. She knew Jake would step up for Joe. She knew he would be the father Joe needed from this moment forward. But there was always going to be a hole in her family that Emma would never know how to fill.

"Eat this," Vanessa pointed to the plate Emma had abandoned. Emma shook her head.

"I'm not hungry."

"You don't get to do this, Emma," Vanessa said and sat down next to her daughter. "You don't get to play the victim anymore. Not with a son. You didn't eat dinner, so you'll eat now."

"Vanessa."

"Your son needs you," Vanessa said. "I choked down three meals a day after Joe died. I thought, god-forbid Gia needs me, I need my strength. You lost a husband, and it's an unimaginable pain. But that little boy lost his father. You remember what that's like, don't you?"

Emma nodded her head. Vanessa put the plate under her nose, "Please eat."

She took a couple of bites, but her stomach couldn't handle anymore. Vanessa took the rest away as Ryan walked back into the room. She offered up her drawing to her sister.

"It's to feel better," she said and crawled up on Emma's lap. "That's you, that's Joe and that's Jordan in the sky. He's with my mommy and daddy."

"Thank you," Emma whispered and hugged her little sister tight.

A knock on the door took Vanessa out of the kitchen. She let Sarah inside, smiling to the newest pink Ranger. Sarah set her hoverboard down and carried in with her a big bag.

"Is this a good time?" she asked and Vanessa showed her into the living room. Sarah went to sit on the coffee table, so she could be facing Emma. She looked down at the little girl in Emma's lap. It was too old to be her niece.

"You must be Ryan," she said and opened her bag. Ryan nodded, but it was clear her attention was on Sarah's big, pink bag. Sarah reached her hand inside. "You know, I've been talking with some of your friends, and they're telling me that you've been so sweet trying to help your big sister."

"I try," Ryan nodded her head and showed Sarah the picture she had just given Emma. "See. I made this for her."

"You made that? I don't believe it. You mean you can colour inside the lines and everything?"

"Yeah."

"No way! That too me forever to learn. How old are you?"

"I'm five."

"You're five? And you colour inside the lines? Your mothers must be so proud of you."

"Yeah," Ryan said and looked down at the bag again. "What's in there?"

"Well, your brother and sister told me how much you love the Power Rangers. And since you have been such a good little sister and helping out, I thought I'd bring you this. Red is always your favourite, right?"

Ryan nodded her head. Sarah took out the red Ninja Steel action figure that Brody had bought.

"My red Ranger gave me this," she whispered to Ryan. "He said, this needs to go straight to you. He said you would take really good care of it, just like how you're taking really good care of your sister."

"I am!" Ryan said and snatched the toy from Sarah. She then hopped off the couch to ask her mother to take it out of the box for her. Emma cracked a smile at Sarah.

"You don't have to do this."

"My dad's gone too," Sarah said. "Sometimes, you just need someone to swoop in and just make things better, even if it's just for a second."

She reached into her bag and took out a data comm.

"Mick and I made you this," she said. "We use it to keep in touch when something's happening. I figured since Gia and Jordan were always there for me when I needed them, this could be my way of returning the favour. If you or your teammates ever need a little help, just call."

"Thank you," Emma whispered and strapped the data comm to her wrist. Sarah smiled to her, then reached into her bag again when Ryan walked back into the room.

"Hey, Ryan, you have two brothers, don't you?"

"Yeah. A big brother and a little brother."

"Does your little brother like trucks?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

Sarah took out a toy truck, identical to Calvin's Nitro.

"Do you think he might like this?" she asked. "I need someone who's going to play with it."

"I'll give it to him when he wakes up," Ryan said and took the truck from Sarah.

By now, Joe and Ciara had noticed that Sarah had not only arrived, but she had arrived bearing gifts. Ciara made her way over, curious to see what else was in the bag.

"You're Ciara, aren't you?" Sarah asked the little girl, who looked up at her with a nod. "You look like your mommy. Are you just as brave as her?"

Ciara nodded her head again.

"You've been visiting mommy a lot, I hear," Sarah said. "Is she feeling better?"

"We read now," Ciara answered.

"You read, or mommy reads?"

"Me," Ciara said and pointed to herself. She giggled when Sarah's eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped.

"You're reading?" Sarah asked. "You read to mommy? I'll bet she loves that!"

"Yeah," Ciara nodded her head. "Make mommy better."

"You sound like a really good nurse," Sarah said. "How many books have you read to mommy so far?"

"A hundred!"

"A hundred? You must be running out, huh?"

"Nope."

"Well, just in case you ever do," Sarah said and pulled out a boxset of young reader books. "Maybe you and mommy can start reading some new stories together. Do you think she might like that?"

"Books!" Ciara gasped happily as she grabbed the set. She showed them to Emma, "Look, Memma! Books for mommy!"

"Mommy's going to love that," Emma smiled. "Why don't you go pick one out to take to the hospital later?"

Ciara carried her set over to the other couch and started to look through all the books, finding her favourite stories.

By now, Joe had watched Ryan, Dylan and Ciara all receive presents, but he was nervous to approach Sarah. So the pink Ranger slid off the coffee table and sat on the ground. She patted her bag as she smiled at Joe.

"You must be Joe," she said. "There's something really special in here for you. Do you want to see?"

Joe shrugged his shoulders. He was nervous. It was understandable. His father would never be coming home.

"It is so cool," Sarah promised him and she knew that sparked Joe's interest. He moved in a little closer. Sarah quickly glanced to Emma. "Would he be okay if he sat on my lap?"

Emma nodded her head and assured Sarah that would be fine. Sarah gently reached her hands out and pulled the little boy in. She sat him down on her legs and wrapped her arms around him.

"My daddy was in an accident too," she told Joe. "And he never came home."

"Me too," Joe whispered.

"I've been talking to your uncle Jake," Sarah said. "He told me when you grow up, you want to be a Guardian, just like your dad."

Sarah heard Emma take a heavy sigh.

"Daddy help people," Joe explained to Sarah.

"I know. Daddy helped me a lot," Sarah smiled. "He's kind of like a hero, right?"

Joe nodded his head. Sarah reached into her bag and took out a figure. She showed it to Joe. He smiled as he looked at that.

"That daddy!"

"It does look a lot like him, doesn't it?" Sarah asked. Joe took the figure in his hand and held it gentle. Sarah pointed to it, "See, Joe, this isn't a toy, but it's something even better."

"Daddy?"

"Unfortunately no, but… my friend Preston is magic. Do you remember when he was at the park? He did all those cool tricks?"

Joe nodded his head.

"Now, my friend Preston is really, really good at magic, but he still can't do everything. But, he tried really, really hard and you'll never guess what happened."

"What?"

"Well, he caught a little bit of your daddy's spirit," Sarah smiled. "And then he put it into this tiny statue. That's why it looks like him."

"Really?" Joe asked.

"There is a little bit of your daddy inside this statue. And if you keep it safe, you can now always have a little piece of your daddy with you, even if you can't see him."

"Mama!" Joe smiled as he held up the figure to show his mother. Emma took it with a smile.

"We'll keep it in your bedroom, okay? That was daddy is always watching over you."

Joe nodded excitedly, then spun around in Sarah's lap and hugged her tight. Sarah wrapped her arms around his little body and kissed the side of his head.

"You're going to be okay, little guy," she promised him.

Joe let go, took the figure from his mother and then rushed off to show his grandmother. Emma called after Joe to be careful. Sarah chuckled.

"It's unbreakable," she assured Emma. "He can drop it, smash it around, take it to school with him when he starts and do whatever he wants with it. The paint won't even chip."

"Magic?"

"Really good workmanship," Sarah smiled. "I'm more of an engineer, but as long as I'm creating something, I can figure it out."

"You made that?"

"It was the least I could do," Sarah nodded. "Kelly painted it. Preston didn't actually capture some of Jordan's spirit into it, but there is magic protecting the paint. Like I said, it's never going to chip or break. Joe can have it forever."

"Thank you," Emma said. Joe raced back into the room, smiling brightly. He hopped onto the couch where Ciara was sitting to show off his father's small statue. A tear rolled down Emma's cheek. "Really, thank you."


	10. The Goodbye

Gia hadn't been able to attend Jordan's funeral, but she was there for the wake, which was held in the main lobby of the Silver Guardian's HQ. She walked into the room gingerly, dressed in her uniform. It made her stand out, but since Jordan had died in the line of duty, it was the least she could do to pay her respects.

Fortunately, Troy and Rebecca were in uniform too. Gia didn't feel so alone.

She found Emma across the room. Her best friend was surrounded by people coming to express their sympathies. She looked miserable. Gia kissed Jake's cheek and told him he could sit with the rest of the team. She knew she would have to rescue Emma.

She walked over to her best friend and took her head, "The caterer is screwing up the vegetarian sandwiches. He wants to know what you mean by tasteless."

"It's not… fine, show me where he is," Emma sighed and followed her best friend out of the room. They then wordless made their way upstairs to Gia and Jordan's office. Gia locked the elevator door, so no one else could come up. Emma made her way to Jordan's desk and sat in his chair.

"He was always so happy there," Gia said as she sat at her own desk. "Even on those late nights. He really loved this job."

Emma chuckled and nodded her head. She looked to the picture of Joe on Jordan's desk, and then to the picture next to it of all three of them.

"How are you doing?" Emma asked Gia. It had only been a week since the hospital had discharged her, and while she was able get back into her regular routine at home, it would be a while still before Gia was back at work.

"I miss him," Gia admitted. It was the hardest part of her recovery. Though she and Jordan bickered all the time, they were great friends. Hell, Gia would even call him her brother. She had trusted him with her life day after day, and she trusted him with her daughter even more. She couldn't believe he was gone. Worse: she couldn't believe she didn't get to say goodbye. "It's not going to be the same here, without him. He was the one with the passion. He was the one who wanted this so bad. I was just… his partner."

"He loved working with you," Emma said because she knew Gia needed to hear it. "He couldn't have asked for a better partner. He told me that all the time. You kept him on his toes, you pushed him to be a better cop. He loved you for that."

"His desk is staying the way it is," Gia promised Emma. "Coffee cup, pictures, whatever you don't take home with you…"

"I won't take any of it. I have more than enough pictures at home. You keep this stuff."

"You can take this," Gia said as she stood up. Emma begged her not to push herself too hard, but Gia made her way over to the desk and opened the top drawer. "It was morbid when we wrote them, but Jordan and I each wrote a letter, just in case something happened. Take this home, read it with Joe."

Gia handed the letter to Emma who took it, then frowned. She flipped the letter over when she felt there was something stuck to it and saw Jordan had tapped a key to the back. Attached to the key was a keychain with Gia's name.

"I think this is for you," she said and gave the key to her best friend. Gia examined the key carefully then gasped.

"You bugger!" she shouted and raced to the shelf by the wall, picking up a small box with a lock. "Your freaking husband brought this into work one day, just after we wrote those letter and said there was a surprise in here. Freaking thing was locked and I never found the damn key! He said I couldn't open it until I did and it drove me nuts!"

Emma chuckled. While Gia was more verbal in her teasing and annoying with Jordan, using names such as butthead and intentionally saying things that would embarrass him, Jordan was a bit subtler. He knew not knowing something always drove Gia crazy, and so he would hide things from her. Emma remembered coming up to their office once to see the whole place had been turned upside down, with Gia screaming at Jordan and demanding he tell her where he hid her lunch. Emma learned later that Jordan had seen Gia had forgotten her lunch at home in her rush to leave, and left out that little detail when she realized later she didn't have it.

She would never understand why they loved to torture each other, and why they always put up with being tortured. But her husband and best friend were always happy together. Emma decided it was for the best.

Gia put the key in the lock and finally she could open the box. Inside, all she found were pictures of her and Jordan, as well as newspaper cuttings and printouts of some of their tougher cases. She looked to them, one at a time until she reached the bottom. There, she found a note.

" _I couldn't have asked for a better partner,"_ it read _. "Keep doing what's right, just be smart about it, Moran._

" _Love, Officer Butthead._

" _PS: I know I don't have to say it, but keep an eye on Emma and Joe for me. And since I'm sure she's with you now, please give Emma a big hug for me. Tell her I'm okay."_

"What does it say?" Emma asked. Gia put the pictures, the cuttings and the note back inside the box and set it gently back on the shelf. "Gia, what does it say?"

Gia turned around and smiled at Emma, "He just wants us to know he'll always be with us."

"That's it?"

"It's not a long note," Gia shrugged. She knew Emma was hoping for more. She was still clinging onto anything she could that would have Jordan's imprint on it. Gia walked back over to her best friend and hugged her tight. "He did say that he's okay."

"He's dead."

"But he's okay," Gia said, then started to chuckle. Emma looked to her curiously.

"What?"

"Actually; the bastard kinda got off easier than I did," she said. "If Ciara brought me the three little pigs to read one more time, I might have torn the book in half and pulled my own plug."

"I knew you'd be relieved when Sarah bought her all those new ones."

"Relieved is how I felt when Ciara and Joe were okay after the first bomb," Gia said. "Trust me, if I never see another pig in my life, it won't be long enough."

At that very moment, the elevator doors opened. Jake stepped out with Ciara in his arm and Joe holding his hand. Both kids excitedly rushed over to their mothers.

"They were getting a little overwhelmed downstairs," Jake explained. "I hope it's okay."

"Just what I needed," Emma smiled as she scooped up Joe.

Ciara tugged on her mother's pants. When Gia looked down, she saw her daughter holding up a picture she had drawn. Gia took it with a smile, "What did you make me today?"

She picked her daughter up, despite Jake's protest and examined the picture while Ciara explained it.

"That me and you," Ciara said.

"We look very happy," Gia smiled. "Is that a book. Are you reading to me?"

"Piggies!" Ciara cried out happily. Gia's eyes widened, she turned to Emma, then glared at Jordan's desk.

"Oh, low-blow, butthead. And my own daughter, no less."

Emma couldn't help but chuckle, seeing this. She glanced to Jordan's desk too with a bright smile, then kissed Joe's cheek.

"Say I love you, daddy," she told her son.

"Love you, daddy," he repeated.


End file.
